Tom Murphy
RedwoodAge.com
Can they hear you now?
It's no secret that hearing fades with age. That gradual loss of hearing has even been shown to take a toll on otherwise healthy marriages.
Now a study shows age-related hearing loss has a surprisingly large impact on the 44 million Americans who take care of elders, whether a friend, a parent or a neighbor.
Eighty-six percent of the caregivers worry that hearing loss affects the care elders receive on a daily basis, according to the survey of 520 people, which was conducted by Songbird Hearing and released in conjunction with National Family Caregivers' month.
Suzanne Mintz, president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association, said the survey reflects the importance of people speaking up.
"This does not mean that family caregivers must speak up for their hard of hearing loved ones," she said. "It means that if it is in the best interest of the family caregiver and their loved one for them to wear a hearing aid, then they must speak up and seriously consider purchasing the hearing aid to improve the quality of life for both themselves and their loved ones."
The problem is significant for a number of reasons. Quality hearing aids cost thousands of dollars per ear and may not be covered under many insurance policies. Companies like Songbird make cheaper, disposable hearing aids, but those aren't tuned to the specific problems of the individuals who use them.
And, as Songbird noted, hearing loss often stems from a treatable medical problem that doesn't require hearing aids.
This poses a growing issue: If it is already impossible to help all those who suffer hearing loss, what will happen as the number of Americans over 65 doubles to 70 million by the year 2030?
Caregiver Impact
Caregivers - often the adult children of the elderly - often find themselves
dealing with responsibilities they didn't expect, including monitoring battery
performance, maintaining hearing aids and dealing with the costs of replacing
lost hearing aids.
"Being able to purchase a hearing aid for someone other than yourself is a new concept for most people," said Songbird CEO Chris DiCostanzo, president and CEO of Songbird Hearing.
Hearing loss is fairly easy to spot, although the signs are often ignored:
- Asking people to repeat themselves
- Turning up the volume on TVs
- Answering questions inappropriately
- Thinking people are mumbling
- Having trouble hearing women and children
- Avoiding social situations
But 72 percent of those with symptoms tend to ignore them, citing such reasons as cost, the inconvenience of hearing aids and vanity.
